The Thunder's Mouth
by pennamethathasn'tbeentaken
Summary: Maxine O'Dell, one of the new girls of Beacon Hills, couldn't help but snoop a little bit when she found out that people had been murdered. And, also, she couldn't help but wonder why Scott McCall was so weird. And, also, what's up with Lydia Martin's hair? How does it stay so perfect all the time? Seriously. She needs to know. (Eventual Stiles/OC and Erica/OFC)


**PROLOGUE**

Charlotte Busse was a reasonable person. Sure. She could usually understand why someone would say what they'd say, or do what they'd do. Easy. But, this? This was too much.

She'd been friends with this new girl, Maxine O'Dell, for all of two months, and already she'd been roped into something incredibly idiotic and definitely illegal. Maxine had seemed like just any other person at first, if a little shy, but as they'd gotten closer, Charlotte realized just how impulsive and irresponsible this girl could be.

First, it was the thing with the water balloons. Maxine had somehow built her own makeshift treehouse in the first week that she'd moved into the neighborhood, and convinced Charlotte that it would be fun to bring up a bunch of water balloons and throw them at people. That should've been the first clue, but unfortunately, Charlotte was having too much fun to really think about the delinquency of her new friend.

Second, well, let's just say that they'd sworn that they'd never talk about the second clue.

So, yes, it should've been obvious that Maxine was going to eventually talk Charlotte into doing something incredibly idiotic and definitely illegal. But it _wasn't_.

This thing? Disastrous.

Maxine's mom was a deputy at the police station, so naturally Maxine made it her business to know the ins and outs of that station. She stole a scanner, a walkie-talkie, and somehow managed to get every officer's phone number just in case she couldn't get ahold of her mom.

While sitting alone in her room, casually googling random things to ease her tired and curious mind, she heard over the radio that they had found half of a dead body and were starting a search to find the other half.

And, that's how Charlotte found herself in the middle of the woods, on the last day of summer, with possibly the craziest person she knew that just happened to be her best friend.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Charlotte muttered under her breath, carefully navigating her way through the many wayward branches and thorn bushes. She hadn't had enough time to change into normal clothes before Maxine pulled her out of her house, so she was stuck in her pajama shorts and a random t-shirt. Obviously, she was upset.

Maxine shrugged her shoulders distractedly, her eyes frantically searching the woods for any sign of half of a dead body. "I can," she said. "You're a really easy person to talk into things. I think that's why we get along so well." That last part was said in a mocking tone, for what reason, Charlotte wasn't sure. It still bugged her, though.

There was a pause in their weak conversation. Eventually, Charlotte couldn't help but ask, "Do you know what half of the body we're looking for?"

"Top half," Maxine replied automatically.

"What if the person that killed them is still out here?"

"Duh," Maxine said, and then paused to look Charlotte in the eye. "We run."

Charlotte scoffed angrily. "Oh, _great_! What a great plan! Congratulations on figuring that out!" She threw her hands in the air in frustration and stomped forward, ahead of her friend. "I can't believe this. We're going to die out here."

Maxine struggled to keep up with her, as her legs were significantly shorter than Charlotte's. There was a distinct height difference between the two girls; Charlotte was five foot eight and Maxine was five foot three.

"Not if we run fast enough," Maxine supplied helpfully. "And if we don't run fast enough, chances are the guy will only kill one of us as long as the other one keeps running."

Charlotte immediately stopped walking so she could turn around and look her friend straight in the eye. "Would you keep running?" she asked, a tinge of seriousness in her voice.

"Would _you_?"

Charlotte paused, then said decisively, "No. I'd try to save you."

"Then I'd do the same."

"Good."

"Great."

And that's when Charlotte turned around to keep walking, expecting just boring old woods, but instead was met with a bright flashlight and a barking dog.


End file.
